ACTH does not mediate divergent stress responsiveness in rainbow trout

Two lines of rainbow trout selected for high (HR) and low (LR) responsiveness to a standardised confinement stressor displayed a sustained divergence in plasma cortisol levels during a 3 h period of confinement (max.: HR: 167 ± 13 ng ml-1; LR: 103 ± 8 ng ml-1; P < 0.001). However, no significant difference in plasma ACTH levels was evident (max: HR: 153 ± 9 pg ml-1; LR: 142 ± 7 pg ml-1). Dexamethasone (DEX) was administered to HR and LR fish to block endogenous adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release. Administration of a weight-adjusted dose of ACTH to the DEX-blocked fish elevated plasma cortisol levels to a significantly greater extent in HR (233 ± 24 ng ml-1) than LR (122 ± 14 ng ml-1) fish (P < 0.001). Plasma cortisol levels in DEX-blocked HR and LR fish after sham injection were low but also significantly different (HR: 6.7 ± 1 ng ml-1; LR: 2.2 ± 0.2 ng ml-1; P < 0.001). These results indicate that modulation of cortisol responsiveness to stressors in HR and LR fish resides, at least in part, downstream of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO IMPROVING THE IMAGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS AND PSYCHIATRY AMONGST MEDICAL STUDENTS AND DOCTORS IN THE UK

In this paper we identify some of the critical factors that contribute to the ongoing shortage of psychiatrists in the UK. We discuss initiatives that have been launched to try and encourage more medical students and trainee doctors to choose psychiatry as a career. We describe the innovative anti-stigma Wounded Healer programme that was pioneered in the UK with the aim of improving the image of psychiatry and psychiatrists and that was subsequently scaled up and rolled out to over 65,000 medical students and doctors in 14 countries in five continents worldwide. We conclude, with some suggestions that we believe will help recruitment efforts into psychiatry

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO IMPROVING THE IMAGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS AND PSYCHIATRY AMONGST MEDICAL STUDENTS AND DOCTORS IN THE UK

In this paper we identify some of the critical factors that contribute to the ongoing shortage of psychiatrists in the UK. We discuss initiatives that have been launched to try and encourage more medical students and trainee doctors to choose psychiatry as a career. We describe the innovative anti-stigma Wounded Healer programme that was pioneered in the UK with the aim of improving the image of psychiatry and psychiatrists and that was subsequently scaled up and rolled out to over 65,000 medical students and doctors in 14 countries in five continents worldwide. We conclude, with some suggestions that we believe will help recruitment efforts into psychiatry

ISLAM, MENTAL HEALTH AND BEING A MUSLIM IN THE WEST

The allegation that, ‘Being Muslim means that you cannot be British’ is often made. In view of this, we conducted a small survey (n=75) utilising purposive sampling on Muslims residing in the United Kingdom. Participants were recruited in a King’s College London Islamic Society event in November 2014 in Guy’s Hospital, London. 75/75 (100%) of the participants recruited responded. 69/75 (94%) of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed that, ‘Being Muslim means that you cannot be British’ (75/75 (100%) Muslim participants, 43/75 (57.3%) female participants, 32/75 (42.7%) male participants, mean Age 20.5 years, (Std. Dev. ±2.5)). This paper broadly seeks to answer two related questions. Firstly, ‘What is the relationship between Islam and the West?’ and secondly, ‘What is the relationship between Islam and mental health?’ In relation to the former, the rise of radicalization over recent years and the Islamophobia that has ensued have brought Islam and Muslims under intense scrutiny. Hence we feel it is both timely and important to offer a brief background of Islam and its relevance to the Western world. In relation to the latter, for many people religion and mental health are deeply and intimately intertwined. For example, religion can enable a person to develop mental health resilience and Islam has been reported to be a protective factor against suicidal behaviour. We conclude our paper by illustrating how the two questions are interrelated. We do so by offering an autobiographical narrative from a Muslim healthcare professional residing in the UK who developed a mental health problem precipitated by war in the country of his origin. His narrative includes descriptions of the role Islam that played in his recovery as well as his attempts to reconcile seemingly disparate aspects of his identity

PART I: MUSLIMS, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND THE WEST. EXPLORING CHALLENGES FACED BY STIGMATIZED GROUPS

The rise of radicalisation, the ‘demonization’ of Muslims in the media and the immigration crisis in Europe have all contributed and colluded to heightened levels of Islamophobia in the West. The stigmatisation of Muslims can and has resulted in negative outcomes in this group such as elevated levels of psychological distress and an increase in hate crime and terrorist attacks perpetrated against Muslims from members of the far right. There are 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet and Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Now, more than ever it seems, is a critical time to learn about what the true message of Islam is and who the blessed prophet Muhammad peace be upon him (PBUH) was from reliable and authentic sources. This paper aims to challenge the stigma attached to Muslims through the following means: 1. It contains information to educate people about Islam, debunk myths and challenge negative stereotypes; 2. It utilizes the power of ‘story-telling’ to engage readers and to equip them with facts and the necessary skills to combat Islamophobia. Part I includes a brief introduction of Islam and concludes with a concise description and evaluation of an anti-Islamophobia programme that was piloted in Cambridge University (UK) and delivered as a Keynote Address at the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies International Symposium of Clinical Neuroscience in Orlando, (USA). Our hope is that through this initiative we can create a critical mass and inspire and empower people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike to stand in solidarity and collectively challenge extremism in any of its many forms. Our hypothesis is that this will result in better outcomes such as reductions in radicalization and Islamophobia

THE FEDERATION OF STUDENT ISLAMIC SOCIETIES PROGRAMME TO CHALLENGE MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA IN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN IRELAND: THE FOSIS DUBLIN STUDY

Background: Mental health problems are common in Muslim communities however due to fear of exposure to stigmatization many people in this group continue to suffer in silence despite the availability of effective treatment. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) organized the first ever Muslim mental health conference in Ireland to challenge the stigma attached to mental health problems in Muslims and to encourage care seeking in this group. As far as the authors are aware there are no intervention studies on mental health stigma in Muslim communities reported in the literature. Design: We conducted a single arm, pre-post comparison study on Muslims who attended the FOSIS mental health conference in University College Dublin, Ireland. Validated stigma scales measuring knowledge (Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS)), attitudes (Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI)) and behaviour (Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS)) were administered on participants before exposure to the programme and immediately afterwards. Results: 18/150 (12%) of participants completed the pre-post RIBS scale and pre-post MAKS scale and 16/150 (10.5%) of participants completed the pre-post CAMI scale. There were statistically significant differences in the pre-RIBS score compared to the post-RIBS score (p=0.0262) and the pre-MAKS score compared to the post-MAKS score (p=0.0003) but not in the pre-CAMI score compared to the post-CAMI score (p=0.6214). Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, the FOSIS Dublin Study is the first intervention study on mental health stigma in Muslim communities to be published. The results of our study provide provisional support that a ‘bespoke’ Muslim mental health conference comprised of talks and workshops by experts in mental health, scholars in Islam and a lecture delivered by a Muslim with first-hand experience of a mental health problem are associated with reductions in stigma. More robust research with a longitudinal study design, larger sample sizes and a control group are needed to determine if such events can cause a sustained reduction in mental health stigma in Muslim communities

On the integration of object-oriented and process-oriented computation in persistent environments

Persistent programming is concerned with the construction of large and long lived systems of data [1,2]. Such systems have traditionally required concurrent access for two reasons. The first is that of speed, be it access speed for multiple users or execution speed for parallel activities. The second reason for concurrency is to control the complexity of large systems by decomposing them into parallel activities. This process-oriented approach to system construction has much in common with the object-oriented approach. We will demonstrate, in this paper, the facilities of the language Napier [17] which allows the integration of the two methodologies along with a persistent environment to provide concurrently accessed object-oriented databases.Othe

Left ventricular outcomes following multivessel PCI vs. infarct artery-only PCI in patients with acute STEMI: the Glasgow PRAMI CMR sub-study

No abstract available